


Games

by Karmi



Series: Moments in Midgar [2]
Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII Remake (Video Game 2020)
Genre: Bets, Drinking, F/M, Games, Teasing, almost but not quite (again)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-13
Updated: 2019-12-13
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:29:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,662
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21776038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Karmi/pseuds/Karmi
Summary: Cloud, Biggs, Tifa, and Jessie have a friendly game of darts. With some stakes. A follow-up to "A Moment."
Relationships: Tifa Lockhart/Cloud Strife
Series: Moments in Midgar [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1569343
Comments: 22
Kudos: 61





	Games

**Author's Note:**

> HELLOOOOO FRIENDS.
> 
> Did y'all enjoy The Game Awards trailer??? I sure did~
> 
> Anyway, this fic follows "A Moment." I decided to expand on these little Midgar moments after all.
> 
> Have fun~

Seventh Heaven was especially lively tonight, and there weren’t even any patrons.

The bar was closed - Avalanche only. They were celebrating a successful mission, much needed after the setback from the week before. Barret was getting antsy for more intel about the big job they were working toward, and couldn’t lay low for too long. Luckily, things worked out exactly as they planned tonight.

The Avalanche members were sitting around their usual table. Marlene was behind the bar with Tifa, which Cloud always thought was a little strange. 

_Isn’t she only four?_

Marlene wasn’t his kid though, and he didn’t know the first thing about raising them. Better to keep his thoughts to himself on the child-rearing. They were doing their best, he supposed. Just like everyone else in the slums.

“Tifa! Come from behind the bar! Hang out with us!” Biggs shouted from behind him.

Cloud turned to the team. Everyone was a few drinks in and had already slipped out of their armor. Jessie was laughing loudly with her arm around Wedge, who swayed just a little in his seat. Cloud looked back to his childhood friend.

She was tucking her hair behind her ear again as she washed a few glasses. She worked quickly, moving on to mix a few drinks, before setting them on a tray. He watched her bring them out to the table, grinning at her friends as they passed the drinks around. She returned to the bar with that sparkling, beautiful smile, and it was aimed at him.

He rotated back on the stool, eyeing his drink. Tifa reached over and placed her hand on one of his. He glanced up at her before downing the rest.

“Why don’t you go join them?” she asked.

He fingered the rim of his glass before meeting her gaze again. “Only if you will.”

Tifa nodded and grabbed his glass. She refilled it with the scotch he favored, then filled another glass for herself. From the minifridge, she took out a juicebox and handed it to Marlene, meeting her at eye level.

“Let’s go sit with Daddy.”

Marlene giggled as she took the juice and ran off to the table. Barret scooped her up in his arms and nuzzled his beard against her face.

“Daddy! It’s itchy!” the little girl squealed.

Cloud watched Tifa as she downed her drink quickly, before filling it again.

“Oh yeah, let’s go!” Jessie whooped.

“What are you doing?” He grabbed his drink and took a sip.

“Catching up,” she replied as she took another shot and filled her glass again. 

Tifa picked up the bottle and brought it around the bar with her. Cloud followed and sat down across from her next to Biggs. She placed the scotch in the middle of the table and Biggs immediately snatched it up.

“Hey, pour me one too!” Jessie shouted. 

Biggs obliged with a huge grin, and Jessie leaned into Tifa and clinked her glass. 

“Bottoms up!”

Both women took their shots back without hesitation. Cloud, Biggs, and Wedge could only stare.

When Tifa tilted her head back toward them, Cloud noticed how flushed her cheeks were getting. 

_Is she taking shots too fast?_

He shook his head and sipped from his drink again. She was a bartender. Surely she could hold her liquor.

Biggs refilled everyone’s glasses and Barret raised his own.

“To hell with Shinra!”

“To hell with Shinra!” Everyone cheered with boisterous laughter as they toast.

Jessie slammed her glass on the table and grabbed Tifa by the arm. “Let’s play some games!”

She rose from the table, taking the barmaid with her. They were heading for the darts in the back. 

Tifa turned back to the table as Jessie led her away. “Challenge you,” she sang as she locked eyes with the blonde swordsman. 

Cloud downed his drink in one gulp and refilled it as he got up. Biggs got up with him.

“I’ll keep score,” Wedge hiccuped.

Biggs cracked his knuckles. “Come on man, let’s show these ladies how it’s done.” 

“This should be a good game!” their leader bellowed as he hoisted Marlene onto his shoulder.

Jessie plucked a set of darts from one of the boards and handed them to Tifa.

“You first,” Jessie said with a wink.

“Hold on!” Biggs said as he took the other set of darts from their board. “What’re we betting here?”

Jessie hugged Tifa from behind and rested her head on the barmaid’s shoulders, swaying with her.

“If we win… you guys have to make dinner for the bar for two days!” She rubbed her hands up and down Tifa’s toned stomach. “Our poor girl is tired!”

Tifa laughed. “Jessie, that tickles!”

Cloud’s brow raised. 

_Oh?_

“Alright, what about if we win?” Biggs asked.

Jessie squeezed Tifa tighter and pressed herself against the barmaid. Tifa held Jessie’s arms around her waist and hummed. 

“Hm… well how about…” Jessie kissed Tifa on her shoulder, and the barmaid blushed. “If you boys win… we have to give you a kiss.”

“Jessie!” she simpered, her hand over her mouth. 

Cloud swallowed his drink. He was starting to feel extremely warm.

Biggs nudged Cloud with a wide grin. “Alright, sounds good to me!”

Cloud nodded as he filled his glass again. Tifa reached out for the bottle of scotch and he gave it to her. Her eyes flashed as her fingers brushed over his own. She took the bottle and poured another drink for herself and for Jessie.

Cloud crossed his arms. “How many games?”

Jessie grabbed her glass from Tifa and untangled herself. “Best two out of three, I think!”

“Go Tifa! Go Jessie!” Marlene shouted.

Biggs shot the little girl a glare. “Hey! What about us?”

Marlene only giggled and sipped on her juice. 

* * *

The boys won the first game. The girls won the second. Barret had long taken Marlene downstairs to put her to bed. Wedge was sitting on a stool and leaning heavily against the end of the bar counter. He’d stopped keeping score during the last game.

Jessie and Biggs were up. Tifa crossed her hands behind her back and stretched. Her half-empty glass sat on the counter. Cloud eyed her from the top of his drink. 

“Argh!” Biggs wailed.

“Yes!” Jessie spun around and hugged Tifa tightly. “Alright, your turn! Bring it home!”

Tifa lifted her arms, her voice bubbly. “I can’t if you don’t let me go!”

It was music to his ears, her bright, full laughter - and with every drink, she laughed more. 

He tilted the nearly empty bottle of scotch to her glass. “One more?”

Tifa watched him for a moment, her smile never leaving her face. “I don’t know…”

Jessie smacked his hand away. “Hey! Stop trying to influence my partner!”

Cloud retracted the bottle with a smirk. “I wouldn’t do that.”

Biggs threw his arm around the blonde’s shoulders. “Come on man!” he shouted, his words a little slurred. “You can beat ‘er!”

Cloud stepped up first to draw, taking a moment to aim. 

Jessie chortled behind him. “Too much to drink, huh SOLDIER?”

He threw the dart. It landed on the outer edge of the bullseye. 

Biggs cursed behind him. “Isn’t your eyesight supposed to be better or something? Come on!”

Cloud only shrugged and put his hands in his pockets. “It’s pretty close.”

He watched Tifa come forward, a sway to her hips. 

The alcohol was really loosening her up.

She took aim, her eyes narrowing, her tongue slightly sticking out of her pursued lips. Her back straight, she threw the dart. 

It landed right in the center.

Tifa jumped into the air and cheered. Cloud’s eyes wandered down her body as she did. 

Jessie hugged her. “Wow, what a shot!”

“Not close enough man! What the hell are we gonna cook?” Biggs muttered as he ran a hand through his hair and started collecting glasses.

Jessie kissed Tifa on the cheek. “Great job!” She leaned closer and whispered something in the barmaid’s ear, her eyes flickering to Cloud.

“Hey, help me with this! Can’t stand the mess.” 

Jessie giggled and began helping Biggs clean up.

Tifa laughed again, her face red. She met Cloud’s gaze.

“You did really well,” she said softly as she stood close to him.

“But you were better.”

He glanced behind her and noticed Jessie and Biggs were busy putting the dishes away. Their backs were turned. Wedge was snoring at the counter.

His attention snapped back to Tifa when she took his hand and started tugging him toward the pinball machine. 

“Tifa?”

She hit the hidden switch and pulled him close as they descended. Her breath was hot against his ear.

“You missed on purpose.”

His eyes widened as the platform stopped and she pulled him into her room. 

“What makes you say that?”

Once inside, she pressed him against the door and kissed him.

Oh how he missed kissing her.

“We didn’t win Tifa,” he breathed against her lips.

“You have the highest score in the bar. You miss on the last shot of a high stakes game?”

“High stakes?” he said with a drawl.

She pulled him to the bed. They tumbled down together and she straddled him. Her face was completely flushed. She started unbuttoning his shirt, but hesitated. 

Cloud held her hand. “Tifa, what’s wrong?”

She blinked. He sat up on his elbows. 

“Tifa…?”

“Mm, nothing,” she murmured, shaking her head slightly. She bent down and kissed his shoulder, then his neck. “I saw the way you were looking at me.” She nibbled on his earlobe and he hissed. “It’s the same way…,” she kissed his jaw, “you looked at me...,” she kissed his cheek, “last week.” She kissed his lips again, pushing him back down, undoing the rest of his buttons. Her fingers spread across his chest.

He slipped his hands up her back, bunching her shirt. She giggled against his lips and straightened up, lifting her shirt above her head. Cloud sat up and held her around her waist, planting kiss after kiss on her neck. She sighed blissfully as her hands roamed his body, tangling in his hair, running across his back and shoulders. Her skin was hot under his tongue. One hand dropped under her skirt and grabbed her behind. 

“Cloud…” she moaned. 

Gods he loved the way she said his name. He _really_ missed that.

She licked her lips and pushed him back a little. Her eyes caught the blemish on his chest. She traced the scar with one finger and the look in her eyes changed.

“What happened to you?” she whispered. She almost seemed sad.

A sharp pain shot through his head. He took a deep breath and put both hands on her waist again.

She wiggled. “Cloud, don’t stop.”

“We shouldn’t do this,” he told her gently.

She clutched her hand to her chest, her eyes wide. “Why not?”

“You’re drunk.”

Tifa smiled and kissed his chest, trailing back up to his neck. She bit him lightly. His grip on her waist tightened.

“Cloud… don’t you want me?” she asked as she began grinding her hips against him.

He grit his teeth and moaned as his hardening erection bunched his pants. The friction from her hips was almost unbearable. “Tifa…”

“Don’t you?” she asked again, her voice quieter.

“You said we shouldn’t. I don’t want to take advantage of you.” He was sobering up quickly. Something was wrong.

_What happened to me?_

She shook her head and stared up at him again. “I thought...” She bit her lip and looked away, becoming stiff. “I’m so stupid...”

There was pain in her eyes now. Cloud held her close and kissed her brow. “You’re drunk Tifa.” He laid another kiss on her forehead. “Not stupid. I just want to make sure you… actually want to.”

Tifa nodded. “I haven’t before but… I want to. I want to with you.”

He took another deep breath, resting his forehead against hers. “Not like this.”

They stayed that way for a while. Cloud continued to take measured breaths. Something was itching in the back of his mind, but he had to keep it at bay. He didn’t want to ruin this moment.

_She wants… me?_

Tifa started to shiver. Cloud removed her from his lap and laid her down next to him. He took off his shirt, dropped it on the floor, and held her close, pulling the covers up. She snuggled into the crook of his neck, her leg across his.

“Can… can I kiss you?”

He turned his head to her. She found his lips for a blissful few minutes, holding his face, before she settled back against his shoulder.

“I like kissing you,” she mumbled sleepily. Cloud pressed his lips to her forehead again.

There were a few minutes of silence. Cloud thought she’d fallen asleep.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.

He rubbed her arm reassuringly. “Don’t worry about it Tifa.”

* * *

She avoided him the entire next day. Whenever he came into the bar, she found a customer to help or a chore to do. He left for a few hours to run errands and do some training and when he came back, she was closing the bar alone.

“Marlene in bed?” he asked as he sat at his usual barstool.

“Mmhm,” she hummed as she washed a few dishes, her back turned to him. The silence that hung around them was tense and uneasy.

Cloud hated it.

He got up and made his way to her side of the bar. He touched her arm gently as she scrubbed a nonexistent stain on a glass.

She gripped it too tightly. The pieces fell from her hand, her blood dripping with them into the sink.

He grabbed her hand immediately. “I’m sorry,” he said hurriedly as he swiped the remaining shards away. She bit her lip, not making a sound. He searched under the bar for the first aid kit and opened it with one hand on the counter.

“Cloud, I can do it…”

“It’s my fault.” 

He fished a pair of tweezers out and removed his gloves with his teeth, still holding her hand with her palm up to him. He wiped his thumb gently across her skin, searching for any glass that might have embedded. After getting the last few pieces out, he washed her hand under the warm water from the faucet, cleaned the cuts with rubbing alcohol, and wrapped it in a bandage.

He let her go and she cradled her hand against her chest, rubbing it delicately. 

“Thank you, Cloud.”

“I haven’t found a Heal materia around here yet, else I would’ve used that.”

She shook her head, still avoiding his gaze. “It’s okay.”

Cloud stared at her, but she wouldn’t meet his eyes. She glanced down into the sink. 

“I should clean this up.”

“No,” he said, stepping closer. “Let me.”

“Cloud, really, it’s fine--”

“Tifa.”

She finally looked up at him. Her face was red.

“I’m sorry!” she blurted out.

He hugged her tightly, careful not to smush her hand. “I told you not to worry about it.”

“Damn Jessie… I acted like such an idiot last night.”

He chuckled, his breath blowing against her bangs softly. “Stop it Teef. You didn’t.”

She whimpered against his chest, clutching him. “Thanks for… stopping me...”

He shook his head on top of hers and shushed her. “I could never betray your trust like that.”

“I’m glad it’s you then.” She hugged him tighter. “Cloud?”

“Hm?”

Tifa hesitated. “Kiss me...?”

He pressed his lips against her forehead, then her brow and nose. She giggled as he kissed her lips, sighing into the embrace as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

“Just don’t avoid me anymore. I can’t stand it.”

“Oh Cloud, I’m sorry.”

He held her close and kissed her neck. She laughed at how ticklish it was.

He’d figure out the rest later. Right now, he was just happy to be with her.


End file.
